Ranier Racing with MDM, formerly known as Ranier-Lundy, was an American professional
stock car racing team that last competed in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Camping World Truck Series, the
K&N Pro Series East
The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...
, and the
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
. The team formerly competed in the NASCAR
Winston Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
racing team until 1987, fielding
Cale Yarborough during the 1980s late in its operations. The team later became
Robert Yates Racing
Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
after Yates, an engine builder and
crew chief with the operation, bought the team in 1988. The team largely fielded
General Motors vehicles for its various drivers until switching to
Fords in 1985.
The team won the
1980 Daytona 500 with
Buddy Baker and
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
and 1984 Daytona 500 with Yarborough.
The team was based in Charlotte
and co-operated by Harry Ranier (February 25, 1937July 21, 1999)
and J. T. Lundy.
who left in 1987
Ranier was a Kentuckian
coal mining magnate.
Ranier's entry into the sport predates magnates such as
J. D. Stacy and
Billy Hagan.
Cup Series
Car No. 28 history
1967–1980
Harry Ranier started entering racecars into NASCAR's top division sporadically starting in 1967 and consistently starting in 1978 with driver
Lennie Pond
Lennie Wayne Pond (August 11, 1940 – February 10, 2016) was an American NASCAR driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier. Pond ...
and later Buddy Baker.
In 1978, Ranier's team won its first race
at the Talladega 500 with Pond
[http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2011/10/MRN-Flashback--Talladega-Triumph.aspx] after other key leading cars were slowed when
Bill Elliott's car blew a tire and spreading debris.
Buddy Baker drove for the team starting in 1979.
In 1980,
Waddell Wilson
Waddell Wilson (born December 29, 1936) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief and engine builder. He was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980, 1983, and 1984. He was crew chief or engine builder for Holman-Moody, Harry Ra ...
was crew chief and engine builder.
Baker won the 1980 Daytona 500 for the team in a famous paint scheme known as the "gray ghost". The car set the record for fastest Daytona 500 ever run by average speed, a record that still stands.
1983–1988
![CaleYarborough28racecar1983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/CaleYarborough28racecar1983.jpg)
In
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
, Yarborough moved to the No. 28
Hardee's Chevrolet owned by
Harry Ranier
Ranier Racing with MDM, formerly known as Ranier-Lundy, was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the K&N Pro Series East, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team formerly compe ...
, competing in 16 events. He won four races, including his third Daytona 500, his sixth Atlanta Coca-Cola 500, and swept both events at Michigan, along with three poles. In
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
he repeated by winning his fourth Daytona 500, becoming the second driver to score back-to-back wins, the Winston 500 at Talladega, a race that featured 75 lead changes, and the
Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500, along with four poles. In
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
after his team switched to a Ford, he won his first
Talladega 500
The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...
and scored his final win in the
Miller High Life 500 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...
.
1987–1988
Prior to the 1987 season, car owner Ranier tapped
Davey Allison
David Carl Allison (February 25, 1961 – July 13, 1993) was an American NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was th ...
to replace veteran driver
Cale Yarborough in the Ranier-Lundy No. 28
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pr ...
. Yarborough was leaving the Ranier-Lundy team to start his own operation along with the team's sponsor,
Hardee's.
Ranier negotiated a sponsorship deal with
Texaco
Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...
's
Havoline motor oil brand,
a deal that was signed during the
Speedweeks
Daytona Speedweeks presented by AdventHealth is a series of racing events that take place during January and February at Daytona International Speedway. Traditionally leading up to the Daytona 500, in 2021 it concluded with the Daytona road cour ...
at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
. He also hired
Robert Yates as his engine builder and
Joey Knuckles as the No. 28's crew chief,
who paired with Allison for years.
On qualifying day, Allison signalled that he was in Winston Cup to stay when he qualified an unmarked, but Texaco-Havoline painted No. 28 Thunderbird second for the 1987
Daytona 500, becoming the first rookie ever to start on the front row for
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
's most prestigious event. A pit miscue which allowed a rear tire to fall off on the track ended his hopes of a good finish in the race, but success for Davey Allison would be just around the corner.
Allison drove full time in the Texaco/Havoline #28 for Ranier in 1987 and 1988. Ranier sold his team to Yates on October 1, 1988, prior to the 1989 season. Allison would have most of his success driving for
Yates Racing
Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
. Ranier did not field a car again until the fall of 1996.
Car No. 20 history
After staying out of the Cup Series for eight years, Ranier fielded a Cup entry with
Elton Sawyer
Elton Everett Sawyer (born November 5, 1959) is a former NASCAR driver. He is married to former NASCAR driver Patty Moise. Sawyer is currently the Vice President, Officiating and Technical Inspection of NASCAR.
Career Start
Sawyer began his caree ...
driving the new #20 in the 1996 season finale at the
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Rainer back moved to Cup full time in 1997 with former partner
Hardee's returning to sponsor the new #20 and
Greg Sacks
Greg Sacks (born November 3, 1952) is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.
Sacks has spent most of his career as ...
driving the car. However, after missing several early-season races, the team switched to part time, and eventually Hardees left the team and it shut down.
Busch Series
Car No. 15 history
Ranier returned to run a limited schedule in the 1996 Busch Series with IRL star
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
driving the No. 15. The team had sponsorship from Mariah Entertainment for the first two events of a nine race schedule, running the rest unsponsored. Stewart had a best finish of 16th at Bristol. The Ranier Busch Series team shut down after the season.
Truck Series
''For the operations after the 2016 season, see
MDM Motorsports
MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Tr ...
''
Truck No. 71 history
On February 4, 2016,
MDM-Hillman Racing joined Lorin Ranier to create a driver development team that would compete in, among other series, the
Camping World Truck Series. A selection of
Richard Childress Racing development drivers were scheduled to run a partial season in the No. 99 Chevrolet, with funding from the drivers' other sponsors. After rain cancelled qualifying at Dover, the team made a deal to run Dover and the rest of Ranier/MDM's 2016 schedule in the No. 71 Chevrolet, leasing owners points from
Carlos Contreras.
Brandon Jones and
Austin Dillon
Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racin ...
split the Truck for six races.
Truck No. 99 history
Ranier Racing/MDM was supposed to field the No. 99 in six Truck races in 2016, however the truck was renumbered to No. 71 after leasing owners points from
Contreras Motorsports.
In 2017, the No. 99 truck returned but since Ranier and Miller parted ways the team starting in 2017 and beyond is called
MDM Motorsports
MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Tr ...
.
K&N Pro Series /
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
In 2015, Ranier Racing with MDM partner with
Hillman Racing
Circle Sport Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 2011 as LTD PowerSports, fielding the No. 50 for T. J. Bell, and later in 2012, the team fielded ...
to field two cars (No. 40 and No. 41) in both
K&N Pro Series East
The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...
and
K&N Pro Series West
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...
.
The team returned for 2016.
In 2017, the team shut down because Ranier/Hillman and Miller part ways. Miller renamed the team to
MDM Motorsports
MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Tr ...
.
Austin Dillon
Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racin ...
,
Landon Cassill
Landon Douglas Cassill (born July 7, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Early career
Cassill was born in Cedar R ...
,
Ryan Preece
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Preece previously competed in what is now th ...
,
Kyle Benjamin
Kyle S. Benjamin (born November 3, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He most recently competed part-time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, driving the No. 15 for LFR Chassis, and part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors ...
,
Travis Miller,
Brian Wong
Brian Wong (born April 14, 1991) is a Canadian Internet entrepreneur. In 2010, Wong co-founded Kiip (pronounced "keep"), a company offering a mobile app rewards platform through which computer game players would receive real-world rewards from ...
,
Corey LaJoie
Corey Daniel LaJoie (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. LaJoie is the son of two-time NASCAR ...
and
Spencer Davis
Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...
all drove for the team in K&N.
The team also fielded two part-time entries (the No. 8 and No. 28) in
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
' 2016 season, the team had 1 win with
Brandon Jones at Michigan. The team also had 1 pole-position with
Kyle Benjamin
Kyle S. Benjamin (born November 3, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He most recently competed part-time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, driving the No. 15 for LFR Chassis, and part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors ...
at Iowa.
Alongside Jones and Benjamin,
Harrison Burton
Harrison Brian Burton (born October 9, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing.
Racing career Early years
Burton's rac ...
,
Travis Miller,
Matt Tifft
Matthew Kenneth Tifft (born June 26, 1996) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, and current team owner. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports unt ...
and
Michael Self
Michael Self (born November 1, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 25 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He was a former development driver for R ...
also drove for the team in ARCA.
References
External links
*
{{Ranier Racing with MDM
Defunct NASCAR teams